


It happened when Brett and James were out of town...

by orphan_account



Series: Assassination and Feelings (The Remix) [1]
Category: Cow Chop
Genre: AA Bro-Date, Assassination and Feelings, Communicating like Real Adults (So Proud), Emotional Constipation, Explosions, Fake Chop Au, Fire, M/M, Panic Attacks, Riding, Rimming, Sexual Content, The A-Team (Cow Chop), Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2018-11-30 03:41:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11455242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: This was inspired by @personalized_radio's Fake Chop AU that she calls Assassination and Feelings. They're amazing and while you don't necessarily have to read them first, a) it will probably help and b) they're awesome. This is based off all the ones that are published up to and including the Honeypot Joe/Corpirate story, anything published afterward will not fit with this.Actual Summary:While Brett and James are out of town, Aleks and the crew paint the town red. Literally. Then Aleks has to deal with the internal and external effects of both a Cockbite meeting he wasn't invited to, plus the shit that he and the others got into when they were left unsupervised. Oops?





	1. The Intel

**Author's Note:**

  * For [personalized_radio](https://archiveofourown.org/users/personalized_radio/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Joe was the honeypot.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11189517) by [Cockbite (personalized_radio)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/personalized_radio/pseuds/Cockbite). 

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aleks tries to behave while Brett and James are out of town. He should get a gold star for the effort.

It happened while Brett and James were out of town. Aleks couldn’t help but be grateful for that because Brett definitely would have made it all worse. And James, well. James hadn’t been acting like himself since that shit with the Corpirate and Aleks doesn’t know what would have happened if James had been there.

To be fair though, it was all Asher’s idea and Aleks just ran with it while the rest of the crew trailed along. Trevor’s birthday was recent enough to be an excuse and with two members of their crew at a meeting with the Cockbites while they were between heists, Aleks was itching for something to do. He wanted to go out and maybe start a bar fight or three to get the feeling out from under his skin. Aleks definitely didn’t want to think about why he wasn’t included in the meeting if Fake Chop was just as much his crew as it was James’s and probably more than it was Brett’s.

“If you’re so eager for action, just go to a strip club.” Asher had said while Trevor was bitching about being too young to legally drink or vape in California and about how bars are boring when no one believes his fake ID. Aleks was hopping around and punching at the air but he broke off to agree.

“Yo, we should though. Trevor, it’s gonna make you a man!” Aleks said.

“I’ve had sex before,” Trevor mumbled.

“That’s not- no. I don’t need to know that.” Aleks said. “Going to a strip club is completely different anyway! We’re going. Who’s in?”

Anna and Joe were braiding each other’s hair and started whispering to each other. Aleks swore he saw some money exchanged between them and Asher.

And that’s how it started.

-

It was Joe, Trevor, Asher, Anna, and Lindsey who accompanied Aleks to the strip club. So basically the whole crew came along because all of them had the foresight to know that no matter how it went down, something was going to go down. It wasn’t just Aleks looking for some sort of action.

They met up at Aleks’ apartment beforehand. Trevor and Joe were fucking around in the kitchen while Anna and Aleks waited for everyone else to get there. Aleks couldn’t stay still, he was playing with that fucking fidget spinner that James got him as a joke. The thing was gold with diamond inlay and while part of Aleks wanted to refuse the gaudy thing, James made a comment about trying to get him one to “match his sunglasses from fucking Golden Boy Free.” Anna just sat and watched him before speaking up.

“You really want to do this?”

“Yeah, of course,” Aleks said. Why wouldn’t he?

“You think this is a good idea while James is out of town?” she continued.

Aleks squirmed a little in his seat. Things had been weird between them recently. James had been- well, he had been bolder since the move to Cali. But since that night when Aleks almost fucked a pirate in the year of our Lord twenty-seventeen for the crew, James had also become softer: more likely to brush the back of Aleks’ hand with his while they’re walking, more likely to guide him through doors with a hand at the small of his back, more likely to stroke Aleks’ hair when he was seated and James was passing by. It wasn’t just in the dark of night when Aleks could blame it on sleepiness, and it wasn’t just in front of their crew when it could be because James has become comfortable with them seeing him as human.

Aleks couldn’t hate it, of course, he couldn’t- he just didn’t know what to make of it. There was an aching pit in Aleks’ stomach and every time James touched him, the ache relaxed and that emptiness was made whole.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Aleks asked, pushing James and well, everything attached to the side.

“Well,” Anna began, elongating the ‘ell’ in a way that Aleks did not appreciate. “Last time it was even suggested that you would have to look at someone else, he turned into such a bear that I almost punched his face in.”

Anna’s grin spread and grew devilish. Aleks regretted asking her the question, but she continued on.

“And then there was the actual mission itself. Let me tell you, the coms were not fun to be on. Brett thought Trevor muted James’ input for most of the night because he wasn’t filling the line with any bullshit.”

Asher chose this moment to join them. He nodded at Aleks before catching the tail end of what Anna was saying.

“You talking about that Corpirate thing?” Asher asked. At Anna’s nod, he continued. “Man, that was some bullshit. Everyone was nervous ‘cause James wasn’t talking and then when Fakehaus fucked everything up, he wouldn’t shut the fuck up. He kept reminding us not to kill you and not to ruin your cover like we would forget who you were.”

Aleks didn’t really know what to say. He hadn’t asked for specifics from James and hadn’t wanted to think about the time he almost fucked a pirate to really focus on any other part of the job that went haywire.

“Oh, and of course, you-“ Asher pointed a  firm finger in Aleks’ face- “had to go and make out with his best friend while he was watching. That definitely fucked with his head. He looked like you broke his heart and he didn’t know how to be angry with you. Instead, he just ripped into Joe the first chance he could.”

“We’re not- listen, you got it wrong- James and I,” Aleks fumbled. “We’re not together or anything like that.”

Asher snorted and Anna shook her head.

But Lindsey started yelling at Trevor and Joe for making a mess in the kitchen and Aleks couldn’t press any further.

-

The strip club was loud with flashing lights and lots of dancing guys and girls. It took a few bills with Trevor's fake ID to get him in but with Aleks' arm hooked around his neck and the crew's ready-to-fight smirks behind them, it was a smooth enough process.

Now, everyone was enjoying themselves: Lindsey was in a corner hitting on one of the bottle babes, Anna and Joe were sharing a booth with a topless worker, and Trevor was getting a lap dance (paid for by the Cow Chop specific credit card James left with Aleks for emergency use) while Asher watched and laughed his ass off.

Aleks was sitting by the bar drinking alone and watching his group. A few of the dancers had tried at different times to talk to him, but he muttered nonsense in Russian and froze them out whenever they did.

He couldn’t help the swell of pride as he watched that way they all spread out and then came back together before splitting off into different groups. Joe and James were best friends, Trevor joined because of Aleks, Lindsey joined them because of Brett, and Asher and Anna were already partners. But they co-mingled perfectly. They didn’t get along all the time, but goddamn they were good together. The future looked good for Fake Chop.

Aleks closed his eyes and grinned at the ceiling. Yes, the future looked good. Trevor had already started talking about a friend of his joining up and helping with some of the leg work.

"You look like you could use a friend." said a deep voice near Aleks' ear.

"Nah, I'm good," Aleks said without opening his eyes.

"You sure? I think we could have some-" the voice paused and Aleks could feel a fingertip start to trace up the side of his neck.

He grabbed the hand and began to bend the finger back.

"What the hell?" said Asher.

Frowning, Aleks opened his eyes. No one was around him but Asher. It was Asher's finger the Aleks was about to break. He let go.

"Hey, you fuck!" Asher said.

"Sorry man, I thought you were someone else," Aleks said. He looked around him. Who the hell had been talking to him?

"Dude, calm down. I was just fucking with you because you looked seriously deranged over here just standing alone and grinning at the ceiling." Asher continued.

Oh, so that's who was talking. Aleks filed Asher's voice change away for later heist ideas.

Aleks licked his lips and entangled his fingers with Asher's. He tugged Asher closer and grinned into Asher's stiff face.

"Don't you want to have some fun with me, Asher?" Aleks cooed.

"No,” came Asher’s stilted reply.

"So you weren't just hitting on me?" Aleks used his most annoying, sing-songy voice.

"No, I was going to ask if we could get a bigger booth for all of us because Joe won't stop making moon-eyes at one of the VIP dancers and it's driving Lindsey crazy," Asher said and started trying to pulling himself away from Aleks.

"That sounds cool. It's on James!" Aleks began to march off, but Asher grabbed him and spun him in the right direction.

And that was the beginning of the end of the night. The booth itself was great. Sitting there and laughing and drinking with the crew while the dancers strutted and danced with each other was easily one of the best nights of Aleks’ life and it caused him to become dangerously distracted.

He was so distracted that Aleks isn't even sure how the fight started. Aleks remembers the harsh sounding words. Remembers Lindsey speaking to a bouncer, and then all of them were leaving. Remembers the other assholes were waiting in an alley by the exit and one of them grabbing at Anna. Remembers Anna laying him out, but not before Asher had jumped into the group to beat the shit out of them. Aleks pulled his knife and followed Anna into the fray and after Asher.

The next bit is clearer, the adrenaline cleaning up the vodka and Redbull soaked memories. Aleks slashes a man's throat and the blood spots his vision but clears his mind. Everyone in the group has either run away or is on the ground with Asher systematically stomping their hands to pieces. They created a bloodbath.

Trevor is giving Lindsey a boost while she writes FAKECHOP in blood on the one wall. Fuck. Anna is grabbing Asher's arms and pulling him away from the remaining corpses. Joe is on his phone trying to get them an Uber out of there- which would be a good idea except three of them are covered in blood spatter and the remaining members aren't exactly squeaky clean.

That's when Aleks hears the sirens.

Fuck.

Anna is closest so Aleks grabs her.

"Cops are coming- get the fuck out of their line of sight and I'll distract them. Make sure you and Asher don't get got- we'll need you two to get anyone the fuck out." Aleks instructs.

Anna's eyes widen briefly before she opens her mouth to argue.

"No," Aleks says and shakes Anna. "Get the fuck out of here."

Anna nods and grabs Asher's arm. He spins as if to hit her, but Anna is fast and she knows him. She whispers to him briefly and he nods before splitting away. The two of them usher everyone else out and Aleks is left with the broken bodies, the FAKECHOP written in blood, the encroaching sirens, and the beginnings of a terrible headache.

Aleks grabs at some of the nearby bodies. He tries to shift them around and make it look less bad than it is, but it's half-hearted, like when a kid's parents are in the driveway and the kid did none of the chores they were supposed to do. Thankfully there are no cameras in this part of the alley- probably why the assholes chose this spot in particular. Searching the goons yields a pistol, some chewing gum, and a condom. Which is, well, at least he's prepared?

The cops have finally arrived but they don't know what they're walking into so Aleks could sneak out the back if he wanted. Instead, he crouches behind a dumpster and fires off a few shots into the air.

It slows the cops down because they don't want to go in without backup- it gives the others more time to get away. Aleks pulls out his phone to turn on the location, this way Trevor will be able to find him if he gets picked up.

He thinks about wandering away from the alley and heading South towards more bars and more drunks. He could exaggerate his stumbles and sing a drinking song that someone Aleks can't quite remember taught him to sing.

Aleks stays put. If he leaves, then there's no guarantee that the others will stay out of trouble. Aleks looks around the alley: no cameras, there's a ladder and a few dumpsters. And the bodies.

Aleks groans. He's too drunk for free-running, but he climbs up the ladder anyway.

From the roof, he can see the backup driving in. There are three patrol cars now and that's three too many.

All Aleks has is a stolen pistol and his knife and fuck, it's not enough.

In what could be considered the dumbest move possible, but hey, it seems like a good idea at that moment. Aleks has Redbull and Goose in his veins. That's gotta be like better than tiger blood.

Charlie Sheen is a distraction and Aleks doesn't need that right now. But some cocaine would be fun. Maybe when James gets back they can get high and James will eat his ass.

Slightly horny, Aleks throws the stolen pistol and beans one of the cops in the head.

There are some yells accompanied by some bullets but Aleks only gloats in his head as he runs the other way. He makes the first jump, makes the second, but on the third the building he hits the side.

His shoulder is wrenched from its socket and Aleks can't hold on to the ledge. At least the alcohol quickly numbs the pain, but Aleks is pretty sure he messes up his ankle when he hits the ground. He keeps walking anyway.

Aleks picks a wallet from a drunken singer outside some random bar. They spin and spin and spin together and Aleks doesn't have to fake his attempt to stay upright. The singer never notices the blood on Aleks's clothes and face. Drunk people are dumb. He grabs the cash and ditches the rest.

Anna has already texted him: she and Lindsay stole a car and they're going to be in the warehouse trying to clean up whatever footage of the surrounding area is available to the cops. Trevor and Asher are following up on who, if anyone, those assholes are associated with.

And Joe is waiting for Aleks at a dinner about two blocks to the South. Aleks keeps to the shadows and makes his way down there.

He doesn't make it. He gets halfway there and a patrol car pulls over and snatches him off the street. Aleks passes out in the back from a mix of pain and vodka. Tiger blood is probably better than Redbull and vodka blood.

-

Aleks wakes up but keeps his eyes closed. His head hurts and he knows that there is nothing good on the other side of his eyelids. The last thing he remembers is being pulled into a patrol car. And something about Charlie Sheen, even though Charlie Sheen hasn't been news in something like 4, maybe 5 years.

"Hey, are you up? Can we get going?"

The voice sounds familiar. Fuck. Aleks opens his eyes.

Joe is waving to Aleks from the other side of the holding cell.

"What the fuck?" Aleks says. Is this real or is he hallucinating?

Joe is just standing there and smiling. He changed his clothes but he's just wearing jeans and a t-shirt.

"Hey, you ready to go?" Joe asks like he's picking Aleks up from a fucking pool party in the desert and there's the chance that Aleks isn't ready to fucking leave.

"Yes?"

And so they leave. Joe unlocks the cell, and Aleks hobbles out. Joe leaves the keys on a random desk and hands Aleks an evidence bag with his personal effects.

Aleks doesn't know what is happening, but he's pretty sure Joe is a magical angel that was part of the deal when James sold his soul to literal Satan years ago.

They make it back to the warehouse with no issues. Which is a good thing because Joe is a Sunday driver every day of the damn week and Aleks is not hungover enough to sleep during the ride. Instead, he ends up in a weirdly meditative state while trying to figure out if James is coming home tonight or tomorrow morning. Aleks is excited; he and James are going to do coke and James is going to eat his ass. He has to double check that with James, of course, consent is sexy or mandatory or whatever the catchphrase is now, but James loves eating ass so it shouldn't be too much of an issue. Oh, and Brett will be back too.

The moment he makes it in the warehouse, he immediately goes into the office James never uses and sleeps under the desk. Anna comes in briefly to check on his shoulder- the cops must have relocated it for him- and to ice his ankle. The crew is busy nursing their own hangovers and admiring the photos that Trevor took last night. Aleks will look at them later. He should also ask for a report on the assholes outside the strip club, but it can’t be urgent or they would have told him by now.

Anna wakes Aleks up sometime in the late afternoon when the office is just this side of too warm and sunlight is burning through the thin blinds. She tuts at his ankle and shoulder. She and Asher carry Aleks out to a car and they drive him home. There’s a prick of pain in his elbow and Anna’s smile in Aleks’ eyes. He wonders if they’ve ever had sex. Asher and Anna, that is. Aleks would know if he had sex with them. Either of them. They would probably be a fun to have sex with, even if they only let Aleks watch. The A-Team could be a sexy fun time.

Anna laughs and Asher sighs from the front seat.

“No,” Anna says. “We haven’t slept together, we aren’t planning on it, and if we ever did, we wouldn’t invite you because you’re dating our boss. And to be honest, I already know way too much about your love life.”

Aleks’ head is swimming. He can’t follow what Anna is saying. He would know if he was dating someone, right?

“I’m dating your boss?” He asks. “Who’s your boss?”

“Oh god,” Anna laughs. She has a nice laugh.

“No, do not start this while you’re pumping him full of drugs.” Asher snaps, but he takes the next turn slowly and Aleks knows he’s not that upset.

Aleks looks at his elbow. There’s an IV in it. These must be the drugs Asher was talking about.

“Are they the good drugs?” Aleks asks.

“Yes,” Anna says. “They’re painkillers. For when the alcohol wears off and you remember that you manage to sprain your ankle and dislocate your shoulder.”

Anna’s pretty face begins to morph.

“Oh god,” Aleks breathes. “Your face. Anna, I’m so sorry.”

He reaches out to touch the blob that used to be her check. He hears a muffled, deep voice. Then Aleks sleeps the only blissful sleep he’s had since he went to a strip club with his crew.

-

Aleks wakes up because there’s someone in his apartment. There’s a knife on the bedside table but Aleks is honestly too tired to grab it. He hears them lock the door behind them and some soft cursing. Mishka isn’t barking at them so that’s either a good thing or a very bad thing. Aleks thinks he hears Ein’s bark but that could just be wishful thinking. Half-asleep, he can hear them making their way through the apartment.

They come in the bedroom but Aleks still doesn’t move. His ankle hurts and his shoulder is sore and the drugs Anna gave him are wearing off. And there’s no way that Brett isn’t going to yell at him for being picked up by cops. And then James will either yell or be quiet and disappointed in him. He might as well just die now.

“Hey, you wake?”

Aleks turns his head and James’s face is super close. His hair is down and if that’s not enough of a revelation in the ambient light from the street, he’s shirtless. James doesn’t leave his chest bare often because he’s not Aleks who thrives on the sunlight and could probably photosynthesize if he wanted to, so Aleks would love to take advantage of this but goddamn, he’s in pain and he wants to sleep.

Aleks groans and buries his head in the pillow. James chuckles and strokes the bare skin of his back. Aleks shivers and grumbles. It’s too early for this shit.

“What’s wrong with your shoulder?” James asks and removes the now melted ice pack from the bed.

“I don’t know. I think it was dislocated.” Aleks says. “Anna gave me some drugs last night but they’re wearing off and now everything hurts.”

“Ahhh, poor baby,” James breathes and his warm breath tickles the back of Aleks’ neck. Aleks shudders and is given a sudden flash of memory.

“Eat my ass,” Aleks blurts and is immediately embarrassed. He feels his skin begin to flush. James’s hand stops stroking Aleks’ back and he is made suddenly aware of just how exposed he feels lying naked on his stomach with a silk sheet just barely covering his butt. It’s only made worse by the fact that James is the one who bought Aleks the silk sheets in the first place.

James chuckles. It’s not the nice chuckle that James does when he’s enjoying himself, it’s the dark one that means someone is going to start begging soon.

“You want that?” James asks and resumes stroking Aleks’ back. His hand is slipping lower and lower.

“You don’t have to,” Aleks says.

 _I missed you, please don’t leave me like that again_ , Aleks wants to say.

 _Why didn’t you text me? Call me? I tried and I got nothing from you_ , Aleks wants to demand. He wants to fight.

“But yeah, I do,” he whispers instead of everything else he’s thinking of saying.

He can feel James’ grin in the lips pressed to the back of his neck. And Aleks cranes his neck to the side to kiss James’ lips. He pretends that James’s fervor is because that he really and truly missed Aleks, not a warm and willing body, but Aleks. But like James said when they started this whole thing- they’re just two friends who fuck sometimes

James’s mouth goes lower and lower and lower until Aleks’ world orbits the places of contact between James’s body and his own. James’s leg pressed next to his own, James’s hands- one spreading him open, the other resting on his tongue to muffle his begging, James’s mouth licking and kissing and biting until James shifts and replaces his tongue with his cock. It feels like hours later and Aleks’ voice is broken and his pillow is covered with drool, but James kisses him anyway and sets a pace too fast for Aleks process. Despite his begging, it feels like it’s all over too soon.

James shifts them so they’re on their sides with Aleks’ damaged shoulder on top and his front is pressed to Aleks’ back and his hand is weighing heavy over Alek’s sternum. This is easily Aleks’ second favorite part of being with James. His favorite being anytime he and James can cause mischief without injury. James looks best illuminated by dancing flames while he laughs in mirth and borderline cruelty. Aleks drowses in the soft morning light pulled closer to sleep by the warmth of James at his back.

Aleks doesn’t think James sleeps so he isn’t surprised when he feels James get up and leave Aleks to sleep some more. Aleks hear the jingle of Mishka’s collar and yeah, that’s definitely Ein barking. James just coos over their ladies and gets them their breakfast.

James wanders through Aleks’ apartment making just enough noise for Aleks to know where he is, but not enough noise for Aleks to wake up. The endorphins from the sex helped, but his shoulder still throbbed and his ankle felt stiff. Unwillingly, Aleks grabs his phone off the bedside table and calls Anna.

When he starts to complain, she just reams him out for not drinking any water and tells to “take some damn Tylenol for fuck’s sake!” Just to fuck with her, Aleks whines that he only has acetaminophen. She just screams in rage and Aleks can hear Asher, Joe, and- is that Trevor?- laughing in the background when Anna physically slams her phone on a table before picking it up and hanging up on Aleks. Their crew might need to take anger management courses, Aleks makes a note to mention this to Brett.

There’s a chuckle from the doorway. James is leaning against the doorjamb and he looks devastating. His hair is still down and messed up from when Aleks grabbed at it. He’s wearing a shirt but it’s one of his newer, tighter shirts from after he lost all the weight that came from stress eating at the Hub. His eyes are as dark as ever but they’re overflowing with amusement, contentment, and something else that Aleks might be imagining.

“What’s the good doctor have to say?” James asks as he makes his way over to where Aleks is sitting upright on the bed.

“That I’m an idiot,” Aleks says and James laughs his deep, full-bellied laugh. “She just said to drink more water and take some over-the-counter painkillers.”

“She’s cutting you off from the good stuff?” James asks and raises his eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Aleks scratches at the back of his neck and breaks eye contact. “I may or may not have said something that annoyed Asher but made Anna laugh.”

“Yeah?” James asks but he doesn’t press.

“Yeah,” Aleks says. Grateful, but unwilling to say why exactly he doesn’t want to bring up his comments about a threesome with objectively two of their more flexible crew members while he was too stoned to realize he was talking.

Aleks picks at the sheets and wills himself to look up at James. Sometimes, he misses the ability to hide under his fringe. And his is one of those times because James is looking at him with such intensity that if Aleks were a lesser man, he would run away. No, it’s not the intensity that’s bothering Aleks, it’s the emotion that he doesn’t want to identify. Because it can’t possibly be what he thinks it is. But if it is what he thinks it is, then he might just cry for the first time in years.

James gets up. He stretches out a hand to Aleks and Aleks takes it.

“Let’s shower. I fed the girls and there’s breakfast waiting for us.” James says and leads the way into the ensuite.

Later when they’re eating breakfast, James drops a credit card on the table in front of Aleks. He picks it up with one hand and keeps chewing his turkey bacon with the other hand. It’s a Platinum AmEx with the name “Sasha M Wilson” on it.

“What’s this?” he asks between bites.

“A fail-safe or a back-up depending on how you want to look at it. Even if everything goes to shit, that card will be clean and good to go. I’ll cover it no matter what goes down, no matter where you go.”

“Where would I go?” Aleks mumbles. Then he raises his eyebrows. “What’s with the last name?”

“Well,” James begins. He’s not making eye contact and Aleks can see a flush rising in his cheeks. Aleks feels a wicked grin spread across his face.

“If this is a proposal, then I demand a better one.” Aleks teases.

“What?” James startles. “That’s not- No. Look, if shit ever hits the fan, then I’ll only leave you alone if you want me to leave, so I got us joint cards.”

“Uh-huh. This still sounds like a proposal to me dude.” Aleks says. He thinks of a better way to mock James and asks, “What’s your name?”

James groans and pulls out his wallet. The card he hands to Aleks is the same with the exception of the numbers and the name. Oh god, the name. Aleks starts laughing.

“I knew it!” he crowed. “You want to fuck Ryan Reynolds!”

Aleks drops the card with the name “Wade W Wilson” onto the table while James just covers his face and groans.

Then Aleks starts to choke on his turkey bacon and it’s James’ turn to laugh at him.

-

They ride to the warehouse together. James had Brett drop him off after the flight in so Aleks drives while James remains in the passenger seat. It’s a nice ride. The windows cracked while the AC pumps and James even lets Aleks blast some Post Malone. He even sings along a little.

Aleks walks into the warehouse with a skip to his step and James trailing behind him.

“What’s up my dudes?” He asks the gathering of crew members.

His entire crew. Sitting around Brett with varying degrees of worry on their faces. They’re all staring at him. Not Aleks and James, just Aleks.

Brett is standing in the center with his arms crossed. He’s the only one looking at James.

“Did you tell him?” Brett asks.

“Not all of it,” James responds.

And Aleks sees red. What the fuck does his crew know that he doesn’t?

Brett must see the rage in Aleks’ eyes because he just points them towards James’ office and gathers the rest of the crew like ducklings. He claps his hands and starts giving them jobs to do.

Aleks leads the way to the office and slams the door open. The office was his sanctuary yesterday- he can still see the evidence bag with his personal effects on the desk- but right now he just wants to break all of it.

James shuts the door behind him. When Aleks spins to face him, he just looks weary.

But Aleks is too fucking hot to feel pity for the man.

“What the actual fuck James?!”

James ignores Aleks’ yell and walks over to his desk.

“If you start hollering, then I’m not going to tell you,” James says looking at Aleks calmly over his clasped hands. His eyes are heavy and Aleks is struck by the matching heaviness of the bags underneath them.

“Fine,” Aleks responds and throws himself down into the chair across from James. He tries not to look at the small table and chair in the corner that Aleks usually sits at. It’s tucked behind James’ desk and is really just there so he can pull the chair over and collaborate with James on potential heist planning. This is a very different situation.

James sighs and with empty eyes, he details the exact events of his and Brett’s meeting with The Cockbites.

And Aleks is forced to sit there and watch as his best friend reveals just how much shit is about to catch up to and overtake Aleks. There’s nothing but fear and bile in his stomach. Oh, God.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those not in the know, acetaminophen is the chemical formula for the brand Tylenol. They're basically the same thing.


	2. The Set Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aleks learns why he wasn't invited to this meeting with the Cockbites. He doesn't react well. But hey, Anna has his back even it's because James forces her to babysit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for a panic attack within the first section of this chapter.  
> Starts with "No." and ends with "Well."

From the moment James begins to explain, Aleks is stuck to the chair. He wants to react but he can’t.

“The Russians want you and I can understand why.”

His past is catching up with him- Russia is catching up with him- fuck.

“What do you know- about before? When I was in Russia?” Aleks asks.

“You were a runner for some bad dudes. They got brought down, and somehow you’re here and not dead or rotting in a fucking pit.” James says. He sounds so detached, like he doesn’t care that Aleks is sitting in front of him and not dead or in the aforementioned pit.

“And now,” James continued. “The Cockbites know the people that your bosses worked for have noticed that you’re alive. They want you because they think you turned in your old bosses.”

“No-“ and Aleks fumbles for the words to defend himself. “No, I never ratted. There was an undercover cop- Mama Graire.”

“Yeah,” James nods. He’s not looking at Aleks anymore. He’s just staring at the wall over Aleks’ shoulder.

“Yeah,” James repeats. “She’s looking for you too.”

Fuck. She knows about Sergiu and Elisa then.

“On the plus side,” James continues oblivious to Aleks’ growing horror. “Her splinter group of Russians can’t legally deport you. You’d have to be arrested for something unrelated first and even then, considering the political climate, they probably would rather you served time here.”

Fuck. Shit, fucking damn.

“So then,” Aleks begins, but god, he doesn’t want to hear the answer. “What was the meeting with the Cockbites about?”

James sighs and rubs his eyes. He finally stops staring at the damn wall over Aleks’ shoulder. Now he’s staring at his desk.

“The meeting was to let Brett and I know about the shit-show you’re about to be in. They wanted to know whether or not Brett and I wanted to keep you around or if we could be trusted to put you down ourselves.”

No.

Aleks jumps to his feet and stumbles backward over the chair he was sitting on. No, not like this.

James remains seated with his hands on the desk. He’s watching Aleks strangely, but that doesn’t mean anything when there are Brett and Anna and Asher and Lindsey and Trevor and fucking Joe outside the office probably waiting for him to run.

He can’t out run them. Aleks’ heart starts working overtime.

James stands and reaches out towards Aleks. And Aleks, god-fucking-damn it, Aleks takes James’ hand and lets him drag Aleks close to the desk.

The room’s too small. Aleks can’t breathe but he can hear someone breathing loudly and he wants to snap at James to be grateful that he can breathe at all because Aleks is dying. But there’s a slightly nasal sound that means it’s not James and oh, there’s a pounding heartbeat in his ears.

James is cruel and he just watches wide-eyed as Aleks starts to crumble. Aleks closes his eyes. He wishes that James had just put him down this morning, or last night. He had so many opportunities, the only reason to do it here is to make an example of him to the crew and to prove to the Cockbites that James and Fake Chop can handle the pressure.

“Aleks, breathe,” James says like it’s easy.

Aleks opens his mouth and gasps like the dying man he is.

“Aleks,” James says.

Aleks closes his eyes and grabs James. James does something that Aleks is sure would either have been impressive or awkward as hell to watch. Either way, it gets James over the desk and right in front of Aleks and Aleks pulls him closer. James wraps his arms around Aleks awkwardly, which is funny when considering that James had his tongue in Aleks’ ass not even 12 hours ago. This makes Aleks laugh.

“Um,” James starts.

“Shut the fuck up.” Aleks interrupts him. “Stand here and let me freak out a little bit more.”

“I can do that,” James says. “I can do that.”

Well. Aleks runs through what he knows now: Mama Graire definitely knows that Aleks is to blame for the deaths of both her daughter and her son-in-law, the Russians that Aleks used to work for went from blissfully unaware that Aleks existed to now blaming him for a lot of things that weren’t his fault, the Cockbites know all this, the Cockbites told James and Brett all this, and James hasn’t killed him yet despite having ample opportunity to do so.

“So,” begins Aleks. He shifts his head so he’s talking into James’ beard instead of his neck. “Is it safe to assume that you’re not going to put me down?”

“Nah,” responds James. “Too much work.”

“Yeah?” Aleks asks.

“Yeah, I kind of started a crew with you,” James says and Aleks chuckles.

“So you’d have to promote someone if you killed me? Good to know Trevor’s incompetence is the only reason you’re holding back.” Aleks says.

“Trevor’s not incompetent and I already told the Cockbites that if they wanted you dead that I would take you so far underground that even their grandkids wouldn’t be able to pick up our trail.”

That’s a lot. James basically told the Cockbites to suck his dick and all for Aleks. There’s a growing warmth in Aleks’ chest that makes him want to break away from James and smack his back and employ some “just bros” language. But they’re so far beyond “just bros.” At least what Aleks feels is so far beyond “just bros.”

James does it for him. He pulls away and looking Aleks in the eye says, “We can figure this out.”

But no, no they can’t.

“No, this is my mess. Let me deal with it.”

“Aleks-sandr,” James chides.

“No! You don’t get to fucking harass me over this!”

And that’s the beginning of the fight.

The middle is a lot of screaming and cursing. Saying things they don’t really mean and both will get over with enough time.

It ends with James throwing the bag of Aleks’ personal effects from the police station.

The bag pops open and Aleks dives for the sunglasses and the fidget spinner. James hops after him, but freezes and snatches at something. Aleks has no idea what he could be after.

Then James opens his fist and Aleks see it. The condom he grabbed off one of the goons in the alley.

James’ face is icy. And when he speaks his tone is colder than the Artic. Aleks wonders how long it would take for him to die of hypothermia.

“Should I be worried? I didn’t wear a condom this morning.” James asks.

And Aleks would rather swallow tacks than deal with James when he’s like this.

“No! I found that on one of the guys that we fucked up in the alley.” Aleks begins.

“Why did you keep it?” asks James.

“I don’t know?” Aleks says and at the look in James’ eyes, he continues: “I was really, really fucking drunk and I don’t really know why I did anything.”

“Uh-huh,” James says as he stands up.

Aleks can’t let James walk away from him like this. Can’t let him leave while both of them are still alive.

“Why do you care? We’re not exclusive or anything. We’re just fucking.”

“You’re right. Why the fuck do I care at all, Aleksandr?” asks James.

Then James leaves.

-

Aleks and James don’t talk. There’s a crew meeting shortly after their argument and it’s confirmed that the crew is loyal and fuck the Russians and fuck Graire and fuck the Cockbites. They’re going to keep Aleks alive whether he wants to be or not. Trevor and Asher relay that the assholes who tried to jump them but made the mistake of starting with Anna are working out of a warehouse in South LA and are almost definitely being funded by the Russians. It’s decided that Anna and Asher are going to live in Aleks’ apartment and keep an eye out to see if anyone is trying stake it out. It’s decided that Aleks is going to be- not hiding, because that would be cowardly- but kept safe in James’ mansion rather than shipped outside the state to Brett’s family’s ranch. Surprisingly, it’s James who insists this. Or rather it surprises Aleks until James makes the snide comment that he’ll be keep track of everyone who comes to visit Aleks.

It’s when Aleks goes to respond to this that the real fun begins.

Trevor jumps in and says, “Who? The stripper?”

“What fucking stripper?” James, as always, manages to say the exact same thing that Aleks is thinking.

Trevor shrinks a little under James’ wrath but points to the board where he put up the pictures from the night before. James stomps over, scans the board, and hangs down the one from under Aleks’ mugshot.

He throws it onto the table and that’s the first time Aleks sees it. [This is the only one I could find, but you know the picture: <https://www.reddit.com/r/CowChop/comments/6cfkes/cow_chops_newest_show_for_first_members_only/>]

James turns and leaves. He grabs a bike from the bay and leaves. Later, Lindsey goes to pick him up somewhere in San Bernardino County because James crashes the bike. Anna goes with her to patch him up, but he doesn’t let her. Instead, he just lets his scrapes go uncleaned and if Brett didn’t hold him down so she could clean them, Anna later tells Aleks that they would have become badly infected.

Aleks and James still don’t talk.

Instead, Aleks spends some time doing things that he has no memory of doing. Until James comes home and locks up all the alcohol and weed in a cabinet and then locks the room that’s in.

That’s where Trevor and some kid who looks like a palm tree find him. Aleks squints up at them through the harsh light and his hangover.

“Hey buddy,” Trevor says.

“Shhhh,” Aleks hisses. When will Trevor learn to be quiet?

“Okay then, I’ll be quiet. James sent us to babysit you.” Trevor stage-whispers.

Aleks closes his eyes and grumbles.

“Yeah, he said you might say that. Said you’ve been fucked up on some of the good stuff for the last three days.” Trevor says then pretends to inhale some Mary Jane.

The palm tree kid says something to Trevor that Aleks can’t quite make out.

“Anyway, we came over to keep you entertained. We brought beer and pizza,” Trevor continues.

Aleks sits up and lunges towards the beer but the sharp movement causes his head to throb. He ends up just sort of flopping towards Trevor.

“Did he just have a seizure?” the palm tree asks.

“No, I don’t think he has seizures. I’m sure if we leave him it’ll be fine.” Trevor says and walks away. The palm tree follows and continues to speak but the words are blurry like he’s speaking under water. Aleks passes out.

The sun’s position has changed and that’s the only indication of the passing time. Aleks hasn’t moved. He woke up maybe half an hour ago but the sun’s not in his eyes anymore so there’s no reason to move.

There’s noise coming from the game room that’s progressively growing louder but Aleks feels no desire to investigate. He needs water. And then he needs to break into this room just so James doesn’t feel like he’s won. Because he hasn’t.

There’s the sound of shattering glass and Aleks hauls himself to his feet. He swallows the bile and closes his eyes against the dark spots in his vision. It takes maybe five minutes but manages to stop swaying too badly and puts one foot in front of the other.

The hallway is slimmer than he remembers it being because every time Aleks takes a step, one of the walls rushes up to meet him. Thankfully, his hands work almost as well as they normally do and he can catch himself. Except when he doesn’t.

Aleks’ ankle gives way and his shoulder doesn’t hold when he tries to catch himself. Oh, that’s right. His sprained ankle gave way and his dislocated shoulder is throbbing too much for that arm to be of any use.

This is not ideal.

Aleks remains crumbled on the floor while his head pounds. He rolls to his side when he feels the bile surge again. Staring at the small pile of vomit is one thing, but the smell is another. This time when Aleks tries to stand, he doesn’t make it off the floor. He should call someone for help. But the only one who could actually help him is Anna.

Where is his phone?

Aleks keeps his eyes closed and pats himself down one handed. He finds it in his back pocket. Which is a good thing because is it wasn’t on him, Aleks has no idea where it would be.

He dials Asher’s number because he doesn’t want Anna to yell at him again.

“Hello? Aren’t you on house arrest?” Asher asks as soon as he answers.

“Of course not. But I need our ever lovely doctor to make a house call.” Aleks croaks and hopes he sounds better than he feels.

“Are you actually dying right now?” Asher asks so no, Aleks sounds just as bad as he feels. “Also, stop hitting on Anna.”

“Feels like it, my man,” Aleks says. “And why? Does it bother you?”

Asher just hangs up.

Aleks hopes that means he’s going to bring her over. Asher seems to accompany Anna everywhere she goes unless it’s a group thing or she’s with Lindsey or Joe. It made sense at first, but now it’s just getting a little odd. Especially when Anna will frown at the side of Asher’s head whenever he gets up to follow her.

Either way, Aleks has something he wants open and he knows just the battering ram. He calls Trevor.

Trevor picks up with: “Are you really calling me from the next room over?”

Aleks hears Trevor start walking as he continues.

“That is the dumbest shit- oh hey. You were able to move.  Where are you now?”

“I’m dying Trevy-boy.”

“Oh shit,” Trevor says. “I can come get you.”

“No, no it’s fine,” Aleks says seriously before continuing to meme. “I have a final request.”

“Okay.”

“That door I was in front of-“

“Yeah, I’m looking at it.” Trevor interrupts.

“-behind that door is a locked safe with some top quality bud.”

“Oh, you gonna share with us, my man?”

“If you can get it open, by any means necessary, then it’s all yours.” Aleks finishes.

He hangs up and lets himself grin. Trevor and that new kid will find a way in. While this doesn’t really let Aleks win, it just means that James doesn’t win. And sometimes that just as much of a win.

Aleks just stays where he is and waits.

-

Aleks must fall asleep while he waits for Anna to come help him because next thing he knows, Asher is shaking him awake.

“Anna said that if half of what James says you’ve been doing for the last three days is true, then you would be in bad shape. But damn you look worse than I expected.” Asher says in what he probably thinks is a soothing voice.

“Where’s Anna?” Aleks asks.

“She’s in the kitchen getting things set up so you don’t die from dehydration like a fucking pussy,” Asher says.

Aleks would be offended if that wasn’t basically what was happening. Asher gets Aleks into a chair in the kitchen and Anna hooks up an IV. She then basically force feeds Aleks a terrible tasting granola bar. It takes some time but Aleks starts to feel better. Asher keeps hovering near her while Anna loads up her medical bag. They’re whispering to each other. Anna’s responses are clipped while Asher’s words meander then linger.

Aleks rolls his eyes. They’re not subtle when they’re fighting. Anna doesn’t talk a lot but it’s obvious that she’s busy or annoyed when she’s not smiling. And Asher, for all his monotonous nihilistic comments, places Anna’s wellbeing and happiness before his own.

Aleks laughs and stares up at the ceiling. The pounding in his head has dissipated and he can hear Trevor mumbling to that kid who was with him. And oh, that’s the garage door. James must be home. He doesn’t have to wait long before he hears James start to yell. Anna and Asher both jump.

“Don’t worry about it,” Aleks says, flopping around the hand with the IV in it still. “He just likes making noise. He gets quiet when he’s really angry.”

They don’t look comforted by this and Aleks frowns. He knows James better than anyone, with the probable exception of Joe, so there’s no reason why they shouldn’t believe him.

James’ yelling continues and the palm tree kid rushes into the kitchen.

“Dude, hide me.” He says to Asher. His voice is surprisingly deep for someone with such a thin build.

“No,” Asher says. “What the fuck did you do?”

“Not me, Trevor broke the wall and-“

Whatever palm tree kid was going to says is interrupted by Trevor skidding into the kitchen and eating shit. Not like actual shit, but like face planting into a counter. An irate James follows him in and James takes in everything in one go: the palm tree trying to hide behind an annoyed Asher, Anna’s not-so-resting bitch face and the way she’s moving away from Asher, Aleks lounging with his Golden Boy Free sunglasses and an IV in his arm, and Trevor bleeding on the floor.

James continues to inhale and turns to just scream at Trevor. When he’s done yelling in gibberish, he turns to Asher and the palm tree that James calls Jakob and orders them to take Trevor out of the kitchen.

Aleks settles in to watch.

James asks Anna why she’s here and what’s with the IV. And Anna, not one to back down, responds that Aleks is a dumbass and can’t be trusted to be by himself and not die. James snaps that if that’s the case, then he expects to see her back at the house in the morning to take care of the dumbass. Anna asks why James can’t do it himself. James answer that Nova has a kill to accomplish and the dumbass is a liability in the field.

Of course, they’re also screaming at each other the entire time. Aleks just grins. He wishes he had popcorn.

Anna retorts that she’s not putting her life on hold just because she has to take the dumbass on “walkies” and then she stomps out of the room. James calls after her that she needs to tell Asher to cover Trevor’s warehouse shift since he got fucked up.

James finally spins around and glares at Aleks.

“What the hell are you smirking at?”

“Nothing man,” Aleks drawls. “Just watching the show.”

When James doesn’t move, Aleks continues. “Think of all the bank we could make. ‘Real Crews of SoCal’ has a nice ring to it. Or even, ‘Real Crews of LA.’ Then Nova could finally retire.”

James starts forward like a cat towards a trapped mouse. Aleks doesn’t stop speaking, “I wonder which one of us would continue after the show aired. You know, making money and maintaining star status.”

James puts an arm on either side of Aleks and leans into his face.

“Well Aleksandr,” James enunciates his name in a way that makes Aleks shiver. “It wouldn’t be you because if these Russians don’t kill you, I will.”

James pushes off and walks away. Aleks is left alone in the kitchen.

-

Aleks doesn’t really have a bedroom in James’ house. The other crew members claimed spaces for their own in case of emergency or even just getting too fucked up to drive home. Trevor’s is next to the server room, Lindsey picked one that opens out to the pool, Brett claimed the little one next to the garage, Joe lived in the one wing for long enough that everyone thinks of it as his actual home, and Anna and Asher claimed adjoining rooms with a mountain view. But Aleks usually just ends up in James’ room in his bed.

There’s like five or six hours of time to kill before Aleks has to sleep, but god, he’s tired. He doesn’t really know what he did with those three days. And he’s not sure where he’s been sleeping.

While he’s pondering where to sleep, or more accurately, where to pass out, Anna and Asher come back in the kitchen. Aleks stays still and watches the way they act in sync. Anna replaces the IV while Aleks is staring at Asher’s ass. She pats his shoulder.

“I know, it’s not bad.” She agrees.

“There are definitely worse,” Aleks confirms. “I haven’t seen many that are better though.”

Anna laughs and Aleks winks at her to keep her smiling.

“Yours is better though.” He says.

“Oh, but of course,” she says between giggles. “I work at it.”

Aleks keeps smiling up at her. Her laughs could cure cancer. Fake Chop should look into marketing her and Joe as a double team of sweetness and pure joy. They could make some fat stacks.

“Don’t worry,” Anna continues. “You’ll get to experience the labors I go through to look this good tomorrow.”

“What?” Asher asks.

“Well, I have to babysit the resident dumbass,” Anna scratches through Aleks’ hair at that so he can’t be too mad at being called a ‘dumbass’ for like the eleventh time that day. “So he gets to come with me when I go to spinning.”

“I’m sure someone else can watch him if you want to be alone,” Asher says, looking like he swallowed a lemon.

“Nope,” Anna grins. “It’ll be some good bonding time for us. Don’t worry I’ll send you snaps.”

She turns to Asher and pinches his cheek. The sour look leaves his face as he watches her spin away.

“I’d love to accompany you anywhere you’ll let me, Anna,” Aleks says grinning.

The sour look returns to Asher’s face.

“Oh good,” Anna says and she turns her she-devil smile onto Aleks. “Then you’ll be ready for us to pick you up at 5:30 on the dot.”

She spins and leaves the room with all her things.

“What? No!” Aleks says.

“Yeah,” Asher says. “You’re in for a good time tomorrow.”

He claps Aleks on the shoulder and follows Anna out.

Aleks makes the executive decision to sleep in a real bed before whatever Hell Anna has in store for him. He drags the new IV and pole that Anna set up into James’ room. He hopes he hogs the covers all night and James spend the whole night freezing.

-

“Double A Day,” as Anna dubs it, begins not at 5:30 like Aleks was promised but at 5. The sun isn’t even up yet when Asher physically pries Aleks off of James. When he’s just starting to panic, Anna dumps a bucket of ice water onto Aleks. Aleks sputters and grasps at the blankets in his shock. James screeches “fucking assholes,” and the rest of his expletives are lost when he bolts out of the room to sleep somewhere else.

Aleks is still gasping when Anna turns her grin onto him.

She pokes and prods him into some spandex workout clothes that Aleks swears he never bought. She shoves him into the bathroom to shit and shaves. Aleks comes out of the bathroom feeling awake and refreshed in a way that he is positive can only be due to trauma. Anna is packing a spare bag for him and Asher is staring at his phone like a zombie.

Anna grins and leads the way to the car. Asher gets dropped off at the warehouse (with a coffee, and yes Anna had a coffee, and no, Aleks was not allowed a coffee) and Aleks blows him a kiss. The car ride has been silent up until now but Aleks can’t hold back anymore.

“You know, what gets me about this?” he begins. And Anna just hums.

“What gets me is that like Cockbite found out all this shit about me and instead of being like, yo, let’s let some shit stay buried- they call up James and Brett and are like, wanna hear some gossip about your best friend and crew founder? You don’t have to bring anything, we already made popcorn and Fake Haus is bringing the booze.”

They make it to the building and even after Anna parks the car, Aleks continues:

“Why can’t they come to me and say, hey, we heard some shit but we got your back? Oh no, I’m sure they would do something like that for James. But no, I’m fucking Russian so they can’t do that shit for me.”

The class is warming up and Aleks and Anna get bikes right next to each other. Aleks doesn’t speak for another hour. He’s too busy trying to catch his breath but it gives him plenty of time to work himself up.

“And Brett doesn’t even run this crew! James and I do.” Aleks continues when the class is over and Anna is chugging water like it’s going out of style. “And it was my fucking idea!”

They go to brunch and Anna orders them both eggs with avocado toast, which Aleks thought was just a meme but it turns out to be delicious. Aleks continues ranting and gesticulating. Not enough to cause a scene, but enough that their waitress made a comment about his passion.

“When we walked in and he said that he told me part of it, what a goddamn lie. He told me nothing. He just gave me a joint credit card,” Aleks’ words slow. “And told me if I left that he would follow me out if I let him. And if I didn’t want him to, that he would still take care of me.”

“Wow,” Anna says. “Is this really where you’re at in your big gay revelation? I thought too highly of you guys, I thought you just wanted to keep it a secret so it wouldn’t mess with the crew. Joe was right. You two are just dumbasses in love with each other.”

“No- we’re not.” Aleks begins and then he stops.

He stares out at the waves breaking out on the shore. The waves come in and they go out and he is in love with James. He’s thinking about this in the daylight, he’s sober, and the world hasn’t ended. A baby is toddling around under the watchful gaze of their parents. Aleks is in love with James and he hasn’t been struck dead by lightning.

“I’m in love with him,” Aleks whispers. Anna’s eyebrow rises artfully over her sunglasses and Aleks clears his throat. “I’m in love with James Wilson.”

“Was that so hard?” she asks.

“Yes,” he says. “This has taken decades off of my life.”

“You’re a wanted criminal with a hit placed on you by the entirety of Russia,” Anna snorts. “Your estimated lifespan isn’t exactly long.”

“Whatever,” he says. “Anyway, what about you and Asher? I’m not high so you can’t escape this conversation by just watching me pass out.”

Anna sighs.

“I could just make you pass out,” she mutters.  She takes a long drink from her mimosa. “I don’t really know. I grew up thinking I was just a lesbian.”

“Wait. What?”

“Yeah, I know, it’s usually the other way around,” she says. “I thought boys were cute but that could have been just aesthetically because I only ever dated or wanted to date or sleep with girls.”

They leave brunch and go to a salon. Anna leans over as they’re getting their nails done.

“And when I was in college, I talked to people who were like ‘sexuality is fluid!’ and I knew that. But like, I knew I wasn’t really not into boys so I knew I wasn’t a hard 6, maybe more like an easy 5.”

The workers move on to their feet for the pedi part of the mani-pedi and Anna continues.

“Then I was talking to an ex’s new girlfriend and she was talking about demisexuality. And I was like that’s it! That’s who I am. I don’t want to fuck someone I’m not in love with, and girls are so much easier to fall in love with than boys.”

When they leave, Anna talks on the drive back to James’s house. This is easily the most Aleks has ever heard her say to anyone that isn’t Asher. And usually, then it's just whispered so that Aleks can’t actually hear.

“So basically, I fell in love with Asher a while ago. But I’m only just now thinking that I love him romantically and not just platonically.”

They’re getting into the hot tub, Aleks in a pair of trunks that he keeps with James’ stuff and Anna in a pair of Asher’s trunks and her bra. Aleks takes the first two hits and then passes the joint to Anna.

“He’s my best friend and I can’t imagine living without him. I don’t want to lose him. Even if he doesn’t love me like that.”

“That sucks man. I’m kind of in the same boat. Except we fuck sometimes.”

Anna snorts.

“Your issues are because you two don’t communicate with words,” Anna says and passes it back.

“Yeah, and your issues are because you’ve invested all your eggs in one chicken,” Aleks says.

“I know, but at least I know not to start fucking someone I have feelings for without knowing that they love me back.” Anna snaps.

“Your problem, young one, is that you are so afraid to lose what you don’t have that you aren’t willing to risk what you do have,” Aleks says.

“That was so fake deep.”

“Yeah, I know.”

-

Aleks wakes to James roughly shaking him awake. He blinks his eyes and tries to untangle himself from Anna’s arms. They had come inside last night and, Aleks checks the clock, fallen asleep maybe an hour ago cuddling on the couch.

“You need to come to bed before Asher sees this and decides to kill you,” James whispers and guides him to standing. And Aleks follows along behind him.

James strips off Aleks’ trunks and guides him into bed.

“I’m still mad at you,” Aleks says as James pulls the covers over him.

“I’m thinking about smothering you in your sleep, asshole,” James says as he climbs into bed behind Aleks.

“You’re Satan, aren’t you?” Aleks mutters as James wraps an arm around Aleks’ middle.

“Go the fuck to sleep,” James says into Aleks’ neck.

Aleks sleeps.

James is gone when Aleks wakes up. He pulls on a pair of shorts from of the floor and stumbles out into the living room. He finds Asher sitting on the couch staring into space. He has Anna’s head on his lap. Her face is pressed against his stomach and he is stroking a hand through her long hair.

“So,” Aleks clears his throat and slumps onto the chair facing them. Asher looks up at him. “What exactly are your intentions with Anna?”

Asher tilts his head.

“What are you talking about,” Asher asks. Well, he would ask it but it’s clearly too early for any sort of inflection or tone in his voice.

“You know,” Aleks gestures towards Anna. Asher has his jacket draped over her top half so her bra is covered now. Aleks is struck speechless by the gesture for reasons he can’t quite pinpoint.

Aleks clears his throat again and starts again. “You know, are you going to put a ring on it?”

Asher’s face didn’t really change throughout Aleks’ question. But now he looks away and Aleks sees a tightening in the corners of his mouth and the beginnings of a grimace.

“We’re best friends. Full stop. We’re partners. Full stop.” Asher says.

Aleks nods. “Is that all?” he continues.

“Don’t harass him.” James cuts in.

Aleks has to crane his neck to see James where he’s standing in the archway to the kitchen. It kind of hurts but he does it anyway.

“This is the plan: Asher is going to go home and get some sleep. Brett is watching the warehouse right now, but you and Anna are going to go relieve him in about two hours.” James runs through the list. “Trevor and Joe will relieve you around 2 and you two will pick up Ein and Mishka from the groomers.”

“Yes daddy,” Aleks says as James places a hand on his head. “What will you be doing?”

“Nova has another sniping job. Jakob will be with me,” says James.

“Okay,” Asher begins. “Why can’t Aleks and I go to his apartment and chill there while Anna keeps an eye on the warehouse?”

“Because ” James snorts. “Aleks hasn’t been released by the good doctor.”

With that, Anna rolls over to face the group.

“This is me, the good doctor, releasing him from my care.” Anna rasps.

“Holy shit! Is that your morning voice?” Aleks laughs. Asher just glares at him.

“Sorry Anna, it’s not that easy. Even I can see that he’s still limping.” James says.

Anna groans and flops her hands. Asher shifts his jacket so her bra stays covered. Aleks giggles a little and tilts his head back. James’ hand doesn’t leave his hair. The four of the sit in silence for a little bit. Aleks closes his eyes. He thinks that this is what the four of them might be like if they met and lived a normal life. It’s peaceful.

And boring.

“Alrighty then,” Aleks jumps up and claps his hands together. “I’m going to get ready, see you later.”

Aleks leaves the room. He hears Anna mutter something and Asher’s laugh trailing after him.

-

Aleks drives them to the warehouse while Anna sleeps in the passenger seat. He thinks about taking the long, scenic drive but James had called ahead to let Brett know they were coming, and that would just give Brett another reason to yell at him.

They arrive in due time. Aleks backs into the garage opening because he can be careless but then normally all of Russia isn’t out to get him. And he has to look out for more than just himself. He leaves Anna sleeping in his bulletproof car with both of their go-bags in the back. She was probably up early talking to Asher and now she needs her sleep.

Brett is waiting for Aleks in front of the wall of photos that is Trevor’s pride and joy. His arms are crossed and his legs are shoulder width apart. Aleks stops out of the range of Brett’s fists and puts his hands up in surrender.

“I’m sorry. What I did was-“ Aleks begins.

“Oh fuck no,” Brett said. “You are going to stand there and you are going to take this like a fucking man.”

Aleks just stares at the clock on the wall until Brett calls him out on not making eye contact on top of being arrested and drunk enough that he couldn’t get himself out.

“I ask you to do one thing! And you fucking can’t do it.” Brett yells. “I want you to know that I didn’t yell until I was a part of this crew. I was chill and then I starting working with you ass lamps on a regular basis and now I fucking yell!”

“Umm,” Anna says from behind Aleks. “I have a headache? Please stop?”

Aleks turns to see her standing in the doorway and holding her head.

“Yeah man,” Aleks walks over to her. “Cut the poor lady some slack. She’s in pain.”

“Whatever,” Brett says and turns to walk away. “I don’t care. Just don’t burn down the fucking warehouse.”

“That sounds like a challenge!” Aleks calls after him.

But Brett just leaves and Anna and Aleks are left alone in the Fake Chop warehouse.

-

They don’t burn down the warehouse.

At least, not at first. And when they do, it definitely isn’t for funsies.

When Brett eventually complains though, Aleks will point out that the warehouse lasted until about noon so it didn’t happen right away.

Besides what does James expect when he literally paints the front of the warehouse with their logo. They’re not incognito and this is why they give people shifts to watch the warehouse. Because of things like this.

What happens is this:

  1. Someone who strongly dislikes Fake Chop gets their friends together and they converge on the warehouse from all directions.
  2. All the alarms the Trevor set up, go off at the same time- which aggravates Anna’s headache.



So Aleks bundles her into his car and along with the hard drives she had grabbed before collapsing in pain. Realistically, Aleks could just start driving and everything would be fine, but where’s the fun in that?

So what Aleks does is he starts the blaze in the common area on the couch where he and James have definitely fucked and that no one else in the crew will willingly sit. There’s a few accelerants lying around that he moves so they’re near some of the entrances. He gets a good fire going before he can hear bullets flying into the room.

He takes that as his cue and he peaces out.

His car is a thing of beauty and she outruns any other car there. Not that they try too hard to come after Aleks, they’re too focused on the warehouse. They have no idea what they’re getting themselves into. The warehouse is dangerous enough when it’s just their crew in there- now all the traps are loaded and set and everything is on fire. It’s rewarding as fuck.

Anna is napping on and off in the car on the way to the dog groomers so Aleks swings by a gas station and grabs Excedrin and a water bottle for when she wakes up. The relative peace in the car and the satisfaction of a job well done lulls Aleks into an almost meditative state. He’s almost to the dog groomers when he realizes that he has a tail.

Give him some credit, he does try to lose them. He even thinks about calling up Steve and Cib to see if one of the members of Fake Pine is nearby to help him out. But Anna is still drowsing while the Excedrin takes affect and he doesn’t want to make it any worse.

Their tail slows down and then just drives by once he pulls into the dog groomers. Aleks waits to see if they’re just looping around the block. When he doesn’t see them for another five minutes, he wakes Anna up.

“Something weird is happening. Stay here, keep an eye open and I’ll let you know when I figure it out.” Aleks says. Anna, ever the professional just nods.

Aleks heads into the dog groomers and picks up the dogs. No one hassles him but it's quickly very clear why their tail ditched them. He gets back to the car and tries to show Anna the collars. She squints at him and then back at the pink collars.

"So, uh," Aleks says. "Fuck James, right?"

"Fuck James," Anna confirms but her arms are crossed and her brow scrunched up.

"So, like, fuck James," Aleks begins again. "We're leaving Fake Chop and joining the Cartel."

"Yes," Anna says. She sounds like she's agreeing but her face and posture hasn't changed. "The Cartel."

"You know, because Mexicans and Puerto Ricans hate each other."

"How do you know this?" she asks.

"James told me. But fuck him."

"Yes, fuck James. We covered that already."

Anna still doesn't look convinced. Aleks sighs. He points at Mishka's collar and mouths the word "bug" at Anna until she gets it.

The lights come on in her eyes.

"Oh," she breathes.

"Yeah," Aleks says.

"So, do you have a plan for this?" Anna asks.

"Of course, I do." Aleks says. He has maybe 56 percent of a plan. But it's better than nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this was taking too long so I split the second chapter into two parts and I'm posting the first part. I'm not so far ahead that I have the next part finished or even mostly done but I do have large chunks of it written. Partly because I started writing it out of order.


	3. The Execution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aleks has no ideas, but Anna has an idea. Aleks follows her and the rest of the crew joins in on the fun.

Aleks drives south. Anna is awake and she’s not talking. It’s making Aleks nervous because Anna isn’t even fussing with the radio.

But everything goes alright despite the tension in the car.

They make it to the safe house in San Diego that Aleks was only half sure was still there. He gets them in and leaves Anna to play with the dogs in the living room. He shakes a burner phone at her so she can see what he’s up to.

Aleks calls James and his phone rings and rings and the asshole better be busy.

Next, he calls Joe. Thank fuck, he actually answers. It’s too late to warn him not to go to where the warehouse used to be. But Joe and Trevor got to fuck with some cops so they’re in good moods. They said that they’ll spread the word to the rest of the crew about the bugs and the attack.

Exhausted by one conversation, Aleks walks inside and face-plants into the couch. Mishka tries to play with him a little but Aleks just waves her away.

“Is it hard work running away to a new crew?” Anna asks, standing in the doorway to the kitchen and inspecting a frying pan.

“Yes,” Aleks says. “What’s for dinner?”

“It’s like three in the afternoon. It’s not dinner time.” Anna says. “But we’re eating out.”

“I’ll eat you out,” Aleks snits. Anna drops the pan.

“Excuse me?” Anna’s voice goes very high. Her wide eyes follow Aleks’ hand-waving apology.

“We’ll talk about it later.”

“Excuse me?” Anna’s voice goes even higher when she repeats herself.

Aleks gets up and walks to the car before Anna can remember how to form any other words. Anna kisses the girls goodbye but Aleks doesn’t see why when they’re only going to be gone for an hour or two at most.

They get settled at a moderately busy diner and they talk. It’s soft and in between bites and sips. Aleks is too paranoid to be anything but cautious at a time like this. And Anna, God bless her, is quick on the uptake.

Anna tells Aleks that she knows all that Trevor has found and that James has been trying to, not keep from Aleks because it’s not like Aleks was the most coherent, but hadn’t shared with him.  Like that the Russians have staked out his apartment and Anna and Asher had to leave almost immediately for fear of being attacked at night, really at any time of day. Like that the Russians may have followed Joe to the dog groomers. Like how they have a name and they wanted to know if Aleks recognized it.

“Ovechkin.” She whispers.

“Fuck. I know that name.” Aleks begins, but their waitress comes back.

“Here you are,” she says laying down the pie Aleks ordered. “Sweetie, you and your girl sure are quiet.”

“Yeah,” Aleks chuckles. “Just a private conversation.”

“Oh honey,” the woman says. “Secrecy is suspicious. Trying sharing a little more.” She tries for a saucy wink. “You might make some new friends.”

“Well, my boyfriend and I were just chatting about the migraines I get when I’m menstruating.” Anna cuts in. “Do you have any tips, friend?”

“Oh yes, orgasms help headaches.” The woman winks again.

Anna grins like a shark. “Too bad he’s not that good. He’s only good for financial stability.”

The woman’s smile fades.

Anna turns back to Aleks. “What were you saying earlier? About eating me out? Let’s try that tonight and see if you can manage to make someone else orgasm for the first time in your life.”

Anna leaves the booth and Aleks is both a little terrified and a little turned on.

“Umm, can I have this to go?” Aleks asks and gestures to the pie.

The waitress is quick to pack it to go and to give him the bill.

“Do you really get migraines?” Aleks asks when he gets in the car. The passenger seat because Anna has taken the driver’s seat.

“Yes,” Anna says when she starts the car. “What do think has been wrong with me all day?”

“Oh.”

Anna drives towards the highway. Aleks has no idea what she’s doing.

He keeps his mouth shut though. At the very least, there’s a tracker on his car now. Maybe a bug or two.

Anna gets out at a rest stop. She grabs her go bag from the back and Aleks grabs his. She walks about twenty feet away from the car. Then she turns back to him.

“So.” She says.

“So?” Aleks says.

“Please continue.”

“There’s not much to say,” Aleks says and scratches the back of his neck. “Ovechkin is a big fish. I never met him, of course, but if he’s here- they really want me dead.”

“Okay,” Anna says.

“And we’ve reached the end of my plan. I don’t know what to do from here. No one is answering their phone.”

Anna nods like she knows he means James isn’t answering his phone. Fuck, she probably does after their conversation yesterday. Either way, she looks like she approves. Like she knows how much more comfortable Aleks is with James at his back, at his side, just with him. Maybe that’s how she feels about working with Asher. Aleks knows they’ve been partners for longer than Aleks and James have known each other.

Anna turns to look out at all the people scurrying here and there. From their cars to the restrooms and back again.

There’s some silence then Anna turns back to Aleks.

“Let’s go to the warehouse.” She says.

“I kind of burned it down?” Aleks says.

“Not that one. The Russian’s warehouse.” Anna says. Her eyes are alight. “They’re too arrogant, we’ve talking on staking it out so we can ambush them when they’re there.”

Aleks nods. It’s not a terrible idea.

“So, the two of us can get started.” She finishes.

Aleks nods. “That’s a terrible idea.” He says.

Anna agrees. “But they haven’t really waited that long to come after you, so really. We need to retaliate soon.”

“Yeah,” Aleks runs his hands through his hair. “Might as well. But you get to make the phone calls. I’ve already gotten yelled at by Brett today.”

Anna laughs and takes the burner from Aleks while he goes to find a car to steal.

-

The drive to the Russian’s warehouse is a lot more relaxed than the drive to the safe house. Which seems like it should be the opposite, but Aleks has always had heists like this. Everything is relaxing and fun until the fallout. That’s when shit gets tense. Also, that’s when the yelling happens.

Anna is in good spirits and she’s fun to talk to. She takes the conversation in circles around Aleks until he can steal it back and spins some stories around her.

Then they reach their destination.

They park. They walk through the alley and Anna heads to the roof. She tells Aleks that she didn’t see anyone until she peeked down through one of the skylights. No one looks up, but they’re not busy. Just sort of lounging around and waiting.

So they heist it up. They’re going to be sneaking around so they leave their bulletproof vests in the stolen truck. Aleks lets Anna set up their coms. He’s not planning on leaving her alone with any of the Russians, but it can’t hurt to be on the safe side.

They climb back up the ladder. Anna pulls Aleks up the last few rungs.

“How’s your ankle?” she asks.

“Little late to ask that doc, we’re already here.” He says.

“Don’t suffer in silence. That will get us both killed.”

Aleks nods. He of all people knows how important it is to be honest about when he’s not at his best and they’re heisting anyway.

“It’s mostly stiff. Same with my shoulder.” Aleks says.

“We’ll ice it when we’re done.”

“If we aren’t dead.” He says.

“That’s comforting,” Anna says as she turns on silent feet to look for a way in.

Aleks lets her lead, follows her and works as her lookout. It’s not often other crew members are in the position to step up and lead. When they are, it tends to be Trevor. So Aleks is more than happy with standing to the side and letting Anna do what she does best without interfering. To be quite honest, Aleks is fucking exhausted and he knows that if he was leading, he would make them much more predictable to the Russians.

It doesn’t take long until she’s got a roof hatch open. She ducks her head in and signals Aleks to go first down the ladder. Which he does, even if it takes him longer than it would usually. He’s mostly silent, a few pained inhales here and there, but he makes it to the bottom and pats himself on the back.

The inside of the warehouse is just as empty as Anna said it would be. There are two men wearing all black lounging in the middle of the warehouse sharing a cigarette in the least homosexual way Aleks has ever seen. There’s like seven feet of space between them and they both have to lean unnecessarily far to pass it off. Aleks just shakes his head. Heterosexuality is so fragile.

Anna closes the hatch silently then slides down the ladder to join Aleks on the ground. They’re hidden by a few boxes and the men in the middle have their backs to them. They could turn around at any minute.

Anna clearly isn’t concerned because she walks, fully upright, to a door along the other wall of the warehouse. This is going to be Aleks’ cause of death; the stress created by Anna just strolling without a care through a warehouse run by the Russians trying very hard to kill Aleks.

She gets the door open and slipped through. Aleks followed her closely at her back.

The door shuts silently and Aleks grabs her arm. Anna just stared at him until he lets go.

“Sorry, but what was that?” Aleks asks.

Anna sighs and looks away. “I know you’re pissed that we learned parts of your tragic backstory without your consent. So can you just give me some time to adjust to the idea that my tragic backstory is resurfacing without warning?”

“Oh,” Aleks says. “Those guys…?”

“They’re fucked up right now and I can tell you exactly what drug and how high their tolerance probably is by now.”

“Okay,” Aleks says and that’s the end of that conversation.

Anna turns and keeps walking. Aleks is pretty sure she has whatever blueprints memorized.

She leads him through the winding corridors and down down down steps. The Russians have no prisoners, but Anna walks on silent feet into every room and inspects it. In a server, Anna inserts a thumb drive that she magics out of thin air. In the next room over, she takes apart a computer and slides the hard drive into the back of her pants. She doesn’t explain and Aleks doesn’t ask.

Aleks’ phone dings.

“Trevor says thanks.” Aleks reads as he silences it. A voice that sounds way too much like Lindsey tells him that he should have done it earlier. She’s not wrong.

Anna nods and continues on her silent stealth tour of the Russian’s basement.

Two rooms over, there’s a crackle over the coms.

“Sup bitch, I got eyes on a prize,” James says. “And hello Bananna.”

“I’m happy for your sake that you were not addressing me with the bitch comment,” Anna responds.

“Fuck both of you,” Aleks says.

“Keep this shit out of the coms.” Trevor chimes in. When the fuck did he get here?

“Chicken Tendies, you need to announce yourself when you join.” James chides.

“I just did, Stacks. Now all of you shut the fuck up.” Trevor says. “Over.”

Anna snorts but doesn’t say anything. Neither does Aleks but he’s sure they’re thinking the same fucking thing.

They’re two rooms over when Anna brightens up.

“Moles here, hanging along the northern wall. Stacks, you got me?” Asher's voice comes over the coms.

Aleks snorts when Anna does a little happy dance and grins wildly.

“I got you Moles. Over.” James says.

“Moles,” Anna says. “There’s a hatch on the roof we came in through. We’ll meet you on the main in twenty. Over.”

“Got ya. Over.” Asher says.

Its maybe ten minutes later and they’re going up the steps when Aleks hears two men coming in their direction. He reaches up to Anna and she turns back to grab his hand as she runs back down the steps. She picks the room that she previously identified as a custodial closet to shove him into, then she slips the door shut and Aleks is left alone in the dark.

The men’s footsteps make their way by at a stroll and Aleks holds his breath. He gets got and he’s dead. James is somewhere up high outside and Aleks is underground. There’s only Anna here but he doesn’t know where Anna is. If she gets caught, he isn’t sure what kind of relationship they had with her but he can’t imagine it’ll be a happy reunion.

They walk by with no suspicion and Aleks slowly lets out his breath.

“Requesting status report. Over.” Aleks announces over the com.

“Moles here, planting C4 along the west wall now. Over.” Asher says.

“Stacks here, covering Moles. No one new within my view. Over.” James says.

“Tendies here, with the Jew. We’re watching from a secure enough location.” Trevor says.

Anna doesn’t respond.

“Bitch, you need to report your status too. Over.” James sounds annoyed.

“Alex is fine, you ass. Bananna, what’s going on? Over.” Aleks says.

Anna still doesn’t say anything.

“Moles, stick to what you were doing,” James says.

“No,” Aleks says. “Moles come in. Bananna and I might need back up.”

“Working on it. Over.” Asher says.

Aleks takes a deep breath and opens the door. The hallway isn’t empty the two men from before are standing near the corner with their backs to Aleks. He steps into the hallway and shuts the door behind him. It doesn’t shut quietly.

Oops.

Both men turn to look at Aleks, shit.

Anna drops out of the ceiling behind them and knocks one of them into a wall. The other turns to look in surprise and Aleks rushes him. He shoulders him with his bad shoulder and cries out in pain.

One of them, Aleks isn’t sure which, calls out in shock and then there are a lot more footsteps coming down the steps.

“Moles, behind!” James calls out over the coms and Anna lets out a shriek from where she’s still fighting the original guy.

Aleks stabs the one he rushed and manages to get out: “Moles, don’t rush! I’m with her and we are-“ before he gets cut off. Hopefully, that’s enough to keep Asher from rushing and getting himself fucked up.

Anna gets her guy down and they stand breathing heavily while two more men rush down the steps with their guns up and ready.

Aleks steps forward.

“Now, now, now gentleman-“ Aleks begins but the one on the right fires a bullet just over his left shoulder.

Before anything else can happen, the building shakes and there’s the sound of a collapse from the northern side of the building. Both men look up confused. That’s their mistake.

Anna and Aleks hear the explosion and use the distraction to go after the men holding them at gunpoint. Timing was perfect and Aleks calls out general thanks over the coms. He scoops up a gun from one of the men and sees Anna do the same.

“You better be careful. Moles is down.” James says.

Anna’s face drops.

Aleks reaches out a hand to her and thumbs at his coms. Anna moves away from his touch.

“Stacks,” Aleks says. “Please repeat.”

“Well, Moles blew some C4 and now he’s down. He’s being surrounded.”

Anna tries to turn away from Aleks.

“Stacks,” Aleks begins.

“Calm down. Moles is moving. But they’re converging.”

“Where?” Anna asks James and he gives her the location. She turns and runs.

Fuck. Aleks runs after her and covers her back. There are a few Russians here and there, but Anna and Aleks are runners. They can easily dart through the ranks of bulky men who wouldn’t have any idea how to run a marathon if their lives depended on it. Aleks shoots at them too, a little wildly, but enough to keep them covered.

Anna doesn’t stop running just bursts through the door into the main structure. She leaps onto one of the men pointing a gun at Asher where he’s lying in a puddle of blood. The wall behind him is blown open.

“Relax comrade,” Aleks hears from behind his back and there’s a warm gun pressed to the back of his neck.

“Fuck,” he hisses and jerks away from the burning metal. Aleks drops the gun and hopes it goes off again and shoots the guy. It doesn’t.

The guy just laughs.

“Call off your Hellcat.” The man says as he walks Aleks forward.

The man she jumped onto has thrown her to the ground.

“Anna,” Aleks calls. “Stay down!”

And she rears up like she’s going to leap again- but she just snarls at the men and crab walks her way to Asher.

They get corralled together and held at gunpoint. One of the guns tells another one, in Russian but Aleks is sure that Anna and Asher get the gist, to go get Ovechkin and Graire. They must be working together.

“Hey Chicken Tendies,” James says over the coms. “We may have an issue.”

“Stacks, we’re working on it,” Trevor says. “Hey A-Team, keep them talking. This might take a little bit.”

Like they have time. Anna is not going to be any help, she’s busy working on Asher’s leg- must be where the blood is coming from. And Asher just looks dizzy.

Except maybe they do have time because it feels like hours before Aleks can see Graire and Ovechkin standing on the other side of the wall Asher blew up. And oh thank God, James can see them. Aleks almost lets his shoulders slump in relief.

Ovechkin steps forward first.

“Allo, there you are!” he says with a grin and a wave. He’s missing a respectable amount of teeth.

“You’ve given me a lot of trouble. Now please Sasha, you and your friends come with me and let’s have a one on one chat.” Graire says from behind him and she steps forward. Her minions behind her, and oh, there’s the waitress from the dinner there with her. She throws Aleks another attempt at a saucy wink.

Ovechkin holds up a hand and stops her.

He walks forward and paces around Anna and Asher where they’re on the ground.

“This is very cute. A Smith and a Wesson, like a gun, da?” Ovechkin says and Aleks flinches. He had thought that Asher was kidding when he said his last name was Smith.

Ovechkin kneels down and speaks into Anna’s pissed off face.

“I wonder what your Papa is thinking. Running off with the car thief that stole from your brother?” Ovechkin tsks. “Very naughty, matryoshka.”

Anna doesn’t say anything just stares into Ovechkin’s laughing eyes.

He stands up.

“Graire,” he says. “The little Sasha is yours. I take the gun team.”

Graire just nods with pursed lips.

Then she begins to talk. Thankfully in Russian so the A-Team can’t hear what she’s spewing, but she’s speaking like she’s some made-for-tv movie villain. Aleks can see Ovechkin’s shoulders shaking off to the side.

It’s when Graire still doing her monologue that Aleks hears Brett telling them to get down. Oh good, that means she’ll have to stop speaking. Anna ducks over Asher and Aleks ducks over her. A door blows open and Brett bursts in from behind them with some fucking automatic and his goddamn pool swan strapped to his back.

While everyone else is ducked and being shot, Aleks sees Ovechkin slip away with a tall blond man. That doesn’t matter.

Graire starts to fall, blooms of red coming from her knees. The angle of the shots means that James is doing this.

Aleks gets his feet under him and lunges for Graire.

It’s easy to tackle her to the ground.

He stares into her fearful eyes as he slices her throat open with his obsidian knife. It slices through her flesh so easy, so smooth.

She coughs and chokes on her own blood but her frantic eyes are forced to stare into Aleks’ own.

He grins and she dies.

Brett is still shooting and screaming like the maniac he is. James' voice comes out soft over the coms. Aleks has no thought but to obey. He gathers the A-Team together and carries Asher to the stole truck as James shoots to kill everyone who approaches them.

Aleks can hear Trevor and Joe coordinating with Brett over the coms. Oh, that’s Kovic’s voice. Fake Haus is here.

Aleks gets them in the truck and he’s never been more grateful for the ugly ass trucks with a back seat because there’s nowhere else to lay Asher down. Anna squeezes in the back with him. She might be hyperventilating. Aleks can’t tell when he knows that he is not aware enough to process anything other the blood on his hands and the weight easing itself off his shoulders.

Fake Haus brings in helicopters and Aleks can hear their gunmen starting a kill count competition over the coms. Trevor waves from outside an unmarked van as Aleks speeds by with the A-Team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, yes I did name the big bad Russian after one of my tied-for-first favorite Russian hockey players. :) I was going to name him Evgeni Ovechkin so I could get both him and Malkin in there, but that seemed too much like I ship them together (when I don't.) So it's just Alex Ovechkin. Oh, and the blond man is absolutely Nicklas Backstrom. (I love hockey.)
> 
> I'm not sure if there's anything else I need to mention in this one.
> 
> I started including bits of my headcanon for Anna and Asher's backstory. I'm working on that, it'll be about four parts. (when will it be posted? idk either my man)  
> Ummm, I have most of the final part of this written. But like, I need to add/adjust a few things. Give me like two weeks.


	4. The Fallout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is how it ends. Aleks deals with what he accidentally set in motion years ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> surprise!!!

It’s hard to drive at a reasonable speed and pace when Aleks is still hopped up on adrenaline and Asher might be bleeding to death in the back. Aleks manages it because he is a goddamn professional, but holy shit is it difficult.

The hotel is in a little place in Lake Elsinore that Lindsey picked out as their go-to fallout hidey-hole. It’s about an hour and a half away from the warehouse depending on the route taken. Honestly, it’s a great location and Aleks is too panicked to think of anywhere else to take them.

The back seat of the truck that Aleks stole is going to have to be burned and all he can hear from back there is soft crying and some low groans.

“Anna,” he calls softly. “How are things looking, doc?”

“I’m not a doctor.” She says between gasps. “I’m not a doctor and my best friend is dying and I can’t fix this.”

Aleks winces at the emotion in her voice.

“He sounds alive from where I’m sitting?” Aleks offers.

“Oh he’s alive,” Anna says but she doesn’t sound happy about it. “But I don’t know how much longer, or even if he does survive if he’ll be able to walk without a limp.”

Aleks nods. He’s not surprised that this injury is out of Anna’s level of experience or even too specific for her. But she’s overreacting, they’ll just stabilize him until Lindsey can get a specialist to them.

When he says as much, Anna just laughs.

“That would be a good plan if I was a doctor,” Anna says.

When Aleks opens his mouth to respond, Anna interrupts him.

“I’ve only got a BS in Biology and an expired EMT certification. I’m not a doctor.” Anna says.

Oh, that’s what she means.

“Anna, its fine. You’ve done spectacularly so far.”

“No! It’s not fine. He could die and it’s all because I didn’t go to med school!”

“Anna,” Aleks laughs through the last shakes of adrenaline. “If it matters that much, I’ll pay for you to go to med school.”

“Really?” Anna asks in a small voice.

“Show me a letter of acceptance and I’ll sign you a blank check,” Aleks says.

“Oh,” Anna sounds surprised. “Well, thank you.”

Despite Anna’s dire prediction, Asher doesn’t die in the car on the way to the hotel. He doesn’t even die in the hotel. Aleks carries him into the room he gets for Anna and Asher with little issue. He leaves Anna to handle any further care and calls Lindsey to let her know that they made it. Aleks already suffered through one in the car where he was forced to explain to her what exactly happened between when she left for vacation and now. It wasn’t fun.

Aleks calls James’ phone again. This time someone answers, but it’s not James. It’s Trevor.

Trevor is an alright kid and all, but Aleks will have to beat him up if it turns out that something happened to James and he didn’t tell Aleks. After, he vomits out of shame for being that weak over someone like James.

“My man!” Trevor says. “That was some good shit you let Jakob and I have-“

“I don’t really have time for this right now. Give me the run down.” Aleks interrupts.

“Okay,” And Trevor gets serious.

Brett and Fake Haus are eliminating what’s left of the Russian’s base of operations while Joe and Trevor watch. Ovechkin hasn’t been found yet, but that’s not something they’re worried about. Fake Pine is fucking around in the desert so the cops haven’t made it to the warehouse districts yet. Something about burning cars and trying to make a connect-the-dots picture- Trevor isn’t sure and Aleks doesn’t care. Oh, and Jakob is at James’ house making sure no one goes after that next.

“And James?” Aleks asks because his masochism always gets the best of him.

“We don’t know. But he wasn’t injured and we’re not sure where he was sniping from so he could be back there.”

“Back there?”

“Yeah,” Trevor says. “He came down and threw his phone at me. He said that when you call, I should say that you’re a dumbass and this is why you have a crew for back up. And he wants to know why you’re still a part of the crew if this is how you act even when you have one that will back you up.”

“What?” Aleks asks, his heart drops to rest somewhere in his stomach.

“Yeah, so are you leaving the crew? Can I come with you?”

“I-I, I’ll let you know,” Aleks says.

He hangs up and goes for a walk. His hands are shaking. If James wants him out- then well, he’ll just have to leave.

-

When Aleks walks inside his room, the curtains are shifting in the breeze let in by the open window. Aleks didn’t open the window. But James- James is sitting on the chair by the bed and watching a cigarette burn. Aleks shuts the door behind him and leans against it. James is silent, not even his breath is making noise. Aleks wasn’t joking when he told Anna and Asher that a really, very angry James will be quiet.

He takes a shaky breath and moves forward. James’ eyes leave the end of the cigarette and jump to Aleks. James watches every step he takes and James doesn’t move other than to tilt his head back when he stands over him and plucks the cigarette and snuffs out it on the table.

“I was smoking that.” James protests, but softly and without any vinegar.

“No smoking room.” Aleks whispers and he leans forward and catches James’ lips with his own.

It’s really just a brushing of lips, the kind of kiss that only counts as a kiss when both individuals are in elementary school and immediately get cootie shots. But James doesn’t pull away. So Aleks presses, harder and harder, and he steps in between James’ legs. James’ hands dart up and grip Aleks’ hips while Aleks cradles his face.

When James starts pressing up into Aleks and his hands start slipping up his shirt and brushing his waistband. Aleks pulls away. James’ groan of disappointment turns into muffled shock when Aleks drops to his knees and starts undoing James’ belt. James watches with wide eyes and a heaving chest as Aleks pulls out his dick. It’s half hard and Aleks can easily swallow it down.

Aleks is alright when it comes to sucking dick. He’s not super bad at it and even enjoys it a little bit, but he hates swallowing or spitting out cum. Before James (sometimes it’s hard to remember that there’s a before) he used to pull off and just let whoever cum in his hand. But James doesn’t like that trick. It’s either a mouthful or a facial and Aleks despises both of those. So Aleks doesn’t suck James’ dick unless it’s a special occasion and he gets this longing for dick stretching his mouth wide open. Like James’ birthday, or when James got Aleks a beautiful obsidian knife for his birthday, or when James has just finished threatening some asshats and has just a touch of blood on his face.

James’ face gets very expressive and Aleks finds his face distracting enough when he’s not giving James a blowjob. Aleks closes his eyes. He knows what James likes. The suction, the licking, the creeping finger brushing against his hole. God, Aleks wishes he could watch the face James makes when he lets a strangled, bitten-off moan escape when Aleks slips a dry fingertip just barely in. James tugs at Aleks’ hair and he pulls off. James holds him there.

 “Aleks, don’t want to come like this,” James says between pants. Aleks nods and knows that James can feel it even if his eyes are closed.

“Lay down on the bed,” Aleks says. “I wanna ride you.”

James groans but eases himself up. He strips on his way there and Aleks is frozen. His eyes trace the muscles in James’ back and legs. Memorizing everything so he can keep this moment forever.

Aleks finally stands when James is settled with his arms propping him up. He didn’t really do it on purpose but James whistles anyway as he takes off his shirt. He glares at James when he drops his pants. James just grins.

Aleks grabs the lube in the drawer by the bed and crawls up so he’s straddling James. He closes his eyes and starts to open himself up. James tries to do what he thinks helps, but really he just rushes things, so Aleks smacks away his hands. James strokes his legs and hips until Aleks is shaking. Aleks is as ready as he’ll ever be and sinks down onto James’ dick.

He starts a pace that James can’t contest and keeps his mind shut to everything but the drag of James’ cock inside of him and the moans James is making. James grabs the side of his face to pull him down into a kiss but Aleks shoves James down and keeps riding him.

“Aleks,” James whimpers.

“Shut the fuck up,” Aleks says and he rolls his hips to grind down harder. More to feel the way the angle changes and makes his breath catch, then for any benefit of James.

“Aleks,” James repeats. “Why won’t you look at me?”

Aleks refuses to answer and keeps grinding on James’ dick.

“Aleks,” James gasps.

“Aleks, Aleks, Aleks, Aleks, Aleks,” James repeats like his name is the only prayer that could grant his damned soul salvation.

Aleks squints his eyes shut and keeps them shut when he comes, gasping for more air.

“Sasha,” James pleads and grips his hips so mean. “Can I? Can I please?”

Aleks nods, too startled by the use of his childhood nickname to protest, and James flips them over to thrust and finishes inside Aleks. Aleks is too sensitive, but god. His eyes and mouth are forced open. He tries to memorize the feel of James coming inside him. The look on James’ face is like staring into the sun.

Aleks reaches up to stroke his face just as James breaks eye contact and bows his head. James pants into his neck.

“I know,” James begins. “That you didn’t- wouldn’t fuck anyone when you went out with the crew. I shouldn’t have implied that you would do something like that.”

“Not right now,” Aleks begs. “Please not right now. Just let me have this one last time.”

James’ grip slides up to hold Aleks’ wrists tight.

“You’re not leaving,” James says.

“You don’t want me to go?” Aleks asks. His voice sounds so weak. “But all this shit is because of me.”

“We all have a past. Even Anna, and she’s a fucking daisy.” James almost spits.

“Okay,” Aleks says.

There’s quiet for a little bit before James speaks up again.

“So you killed Graire.”

“Yeah, I did,” Aleks says.

“Ovechkin was impressed. He let me know that he called off the Russians and while they may not deal with us directly ever, they’re willing to work with the rest of the Syndicate.” James says because he always thinks crew business is an appropriate pillow talk topic. “Oh, and they’re going to stop trying to kill you.”

Aleks nods.

“Please,” James says and his voice catches on the second syllable. “Don’t leave.”

“I won’t,” Aleks says and wraps his arms around James’ neck.

“I’m going to pay for Anna to go to medical school.” Aleks offers because as much as he has wanted to ban business in their pillow talk, he wanted- wants James to keep talking to him more.

 Aleks feels James’ nod where his face is still pressed into his neck.

“I think we should move HQ to my house. It’s harder to get to because it’s a civilian area and it’s gated.” James says.

“Where will you live?” Aleks asks. He feels so hollow after everything that’s happened in the last few hours. He’s not really sure how to keep the conversation going.

“I talked to the stripper. She doesn’t remember you.” James continues like Aleks never spoke and he’s just running through a checklist.

“I don’t remember her.” Aleks retorts. Where is this going?

“Also, I like that mug shot of yours. I asked Brett to frame it.” James says.

“Thanks,” Aleks responds. “What the fuck are you getting at?”

“You were right. I want to fuck Ryan Reynolds and that’s why my card is under the name ‘Wade W Wilson,’” James says and the victory in hearing him say that is a little stale to Aleks’ taste buds.

“I knew it.” Aleks tries for a laugh but it sounds just as forced as it is.

“Shut the fuck up,” James says and he buries his head into Aleks’ neck. “я люблю тебя”

What?

James mangles the pronunciation but there’s no way he’s saying anything but “I love you.”

“What?” Aleks asks.

“And if HQ is in my house, then I need somewhere to live,” James continues like nothing happened.

Aleks is speechless.

“And I was thinking that should be wherever you are,” James finishes.

“Oh my god.”

“Yeah,” mutters James.

The silence reigns for a minute, but it can’t last because Aleks is an asshole when placed in uncomfortable emotional situations.

“So the joint cards really were a proposal.”

There’s a pause then James says:

“I guess, I can come up with a better proposal if that’s what you want.”

“Shut up and marry me so I can be a legal US citizen.”

“I see how it is. You don’t want me, you just want to papers,” laughs James.

James raises up his head and they smile at each other.

“I’m never saying it again.”

“Yeah well, I’m never saying it,” Aleks responds.

They lay there. Just looking at each other until Aleks needs to get up to clean the cum out of his ass and scrub the feelings off his skin. James joins him, so it takes much longer than it should.

They fall giggling out of the shower. Aleks can’t help but ask the question burning on the tip of his tongue.

“How did you know the words?” he asks. James blinks but catches on quickly.

“I looked it up,” James says, which is obvious because Aleks has definitely never told James ‘I love you,’ even in Russian. “Sometimes, you slip into Russian when you’re tired and I wanted to know if you ever said that to me.”

“I didn’t. I know I didn’t.”

“You didn’t,” James says. He hunches over and looks at Aleks from underneath his lashes. “But I also hoped you would.”

That. Well, Aleks frowns at that. Because ‘I love you’ slipping out of his mouth like gasoline is easily his greatest fear.

“What would you have done if I had said I- said that?” Aleks asks.

James snorts. “You can marry me but you can’t even say that you love me?”

“I’ve said it. Just ask Anna.”

“That doesn’t count. You didn’t say it to me,” James says. He sighs and looks upwards. “Depends on when you said it.”

Aleks opens his mouth but James shushes him with a small flap of his hand.

“I would have made fun of you, at first. But around the time you want to leave, I wouldn’t have said anything.” James says. “But in the past few months, since we hit our crew anniversary, I would’ve said it back.”

Aleks looks at his hands. “Oh,” is all that escapes his mouth. He doesn’t know how to say, ‘I’ve loved you for a long time, but I’ve only just learned the depth of the words recently. Please, be patient with me. I don’t know how to trust that you love me just as much yet.’

He doesn’t know how to say this. So he says nothing and hopes that his silence speaks enough of it to James.

-

Every good crew leader checks in with their members after a job, whether or not it has gone well. Aleks and James aren’t bad leaders but occasionally they delegate this job to other people. Aleks has already talked to Trevor personally, so he knows that Trevor has checked in with Joe and Jakob and that he’s coordinating things with Fake Haus and Fake Pine. Aleks talked to (read: got yelled at by Lindsey) on the phone. James talked to Brett a little when they were blowing up the warehouse and the stack of bodies they stashed in there. That just leaves Anna and Asher.

Unsurprisingly, they haven’t left the room Aleks got for them. There’s another man in there stitching up Asher’s leg. He must be the doctor that Lindsey called in a favor from.

Asher is blinking up at the ceiling at a slow pace. Aleks knows that feel, Anna must have given him the good shit. Aleks made a bag of ice for his ankle and shoulder before he and James came over here. He’s glad he did because there’s no way Anna is an in any state to remind him.

Anna sits in a chair by the window with empty eyes. She’s not even watching the doctor work on Asher. She’s just staring at the wall four feet in front of her.

Aleks sits down and blocks her view while James whispers to the doctor. They exchange money.

It takes five minutes (Aleks counts it) for Anna to see him.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers.

“Don’t apologize. If you hadn’t been with him, Aleks would have found something dumber to do.” James says.

“It was my idea-“ Anna tries again to apologize.

“Don’t. Aleks’ plans always end worse than this did.” James repeats.

“But Asher,” Anna breathes and finally turns to look at her best friend.

“The doctor Lindsey called says that he’ll be fine. We just need to get him in PT so he won’t have too bad of a limp.”

Anna nods.

“Says that if it does bother Asher, it’ll be the rainy weather. But we’re in sunny California so that shouldn’t be a problem.” James continues.

“Okay,” Anna says.

There’s silence and James sits quietly at the end of the only bed.

Aleks doesn’t bother counting how long this silence lasts. Anna will talk when she’s ready.

“I’m sorry,” Anna begins. “I’m not really a doctor.”

“That’s okay, you will be,” James says.

“My family, my past-“ Anna tries again.

“Unimportant.” James counters.

“It’s becoming important!”

“Hey,” Aleks leans in and steal Anna’s attention. “Fuck your family and fuck your past. Fake Chop has your back.”

Anna slumps in her seat, all the tension finally leaving her body.

“Thanks.”

“I’d say anytime but you guys just did this for me,” Aleks says.

James laughs. “And if we would do it for this asshole, then why wouldn’t do it for you?” James questions.

“Well,” Anna startles. “Fake Chop is half Aleks’ crew-“

“And you’re a piece Fake Chop, Anna,” James says. “We wouldn’t have brought you and Asher in, we wouldn’t have kept you and Asher if we weren’t willing to keep you and Asher.”

“Oh, thank you,” Anna says.

They sit and listen to Asher’s steady breaths. Aleks knows that whatever has been unearthed in Anna’s life- nothing can hold Fake Chop down. Because Fake Chop takes care of their own.

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't include Aron in this fic at all because he left before I was a fan and I know nothing about him other than that he was there. I didn't follow the Creatures at all so I know nothing about that era, other than general fandom things.


End file.
